So much comes to mind with this expressive image of the Miroku Bosatsu (弥勒菩薩) in Kōryū-ji (広隆寺) Kyoto. On the practical level, the realisation I can no longer pay my ¥500 and see it as before, cataracts have intruded – one fixed, one to go. The pictures therefore are all the more valuable to me. A professional photographer has access, lighting (and skill of course), that is not given to tourists – indeed photography in Kōryū-ji is not allowed. I have seen the Miroku Bosatsu image high-up on a neon-lit advertising site in the Ginza, (selling what I know not). It is said that in 1960, the little finger was snapped off the statue by an enraptured student who hugged it. I can understand that.The statue is most likely from Korea, or carved in Japan by a Korean craftsman, during the 7th Century. The wood is not native to Japan, and a strikingly similar statue is in the National Museum in Seoul. Indeed, there are several variants from around this time, and it seems to represent an artistic development as Buddhism entered Japan via the Korean peninsula. Scholars admire the draped folds, the delicacy of the features, the verticality of the slender figure. It is without equal, timeless, yet in time, representing as it does the Maitreya Buddha, the Buddha yet to come.
Sometimes I feel I need to close a post with the sound of a bell. There is nothing useful to say. This is such a time.
2 comments:
That's the one, that is the image I love so much. I went to Japan to see it, I saw it and I'm happy. I'm glad to see it here too. Thanks.
How about enabling that option which means one can link to a specific posting within a blogger?
Keep on writing, please.
Thanks. Did you take the ancient tram back into Kyoto?
I think the permanent link can be obtained by clicking the time of posting. The option you refer to seems to be essential only if you make multiple posts in one day, when the suffix #1, #2 etc is added to the link. I may be wrong, I'm learning as I go along!
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